United Methodist churches across the United States are being instructed to reject the proposed sexual abuse settlement plan that is part of the Boy Scouts of America’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. In a series of hurried meetings, the governing boards of local congregations known as “charges” are being instructed by denominational officials to vote against the BSA plan. According to leaders of the Dallas-based North Texas Annual Conference, the rejection comes after months of confidential negotiations with BSA by 100 church attorneys and treasurers. In one such North Texas meeting, Bishop Michael McKee told leaders of the region’s 80-church...

The connection  between the Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic parishes and schools in the Diocese of Honolulu officially came to an end Jan 1. The decision was made at the start of 2023 when Bishop Larry Silva announced the diocese would be parting ways with the Boy Scouts of America on the first day of the year 2024 due to sexual abuse allegations. In a letter released on Jan. 31, 2023, the bishop wrote, “Unfortunately, given the liability issues and our dissatisfaction with the BSA’s cooperation on the issue, we will no longer allow parishes and...

The former youth protection director for the Boy Scouts of America said Tuesday the organization is not doing enough to protect children from sexual abuse and is still trying to maintain a veil of secrecy over decades of past abuse. In a speech at the National Press Club, Michael Johnson urged Congress to investigate the BSA’s efforts to cover-up decades of past abuse, as well as the dangers he said the organization still poses to children. “The Boy Scouts of America is not safe for kids. It is safer, but it is not safe for kids,” he said.

When the Boy Scouts is in trouble, it tends to unload property. The organization has faced declining numbers for decades, but the child-sexual-abuse lawsuits representing more than 82,000 former scouts and expected to result in a $2.6 billion settlement signal something closer to an existential threat. At least $515 million of that settlement will be collectively contributed by local chapters, which is why so many of them have either recently sold or announced their intention to sell their camps.

- The Boy Scouts of America has mortgaged one of the most spectacular properties it owns, the vast Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, to help secure a line of credit as the financially strapped organization faces a growing wave of new sex-abuse lawsuits. The BSA said Friday that it has no plans to sell the property, and that the land is being used as collateral to help meet financial needs that include rising insurance costs related to sex-abuse litigation. However, the move dismayed a member of Philmont’s oversight committee, who says it violates agreements made when the...

Several hundred former Boy Scouts are at risk of losing out on millions of dollars in sex abuse compensation due to paperwork errors made when voting on the organization’s $2.46 billion bankruptcy settlement.

Lawmakers around the United States have tried to grant justice to victims of decades-old incidents of child sexual abuse by giving them extra time to file lawsuits. Now some of the defendants in these cases, including church and youth organizations, are finding a safe haven: America’s bankruptcy courts.

The Boy Scouts Model But the Sacklers and Purdue are not the first to use Chapter 11 filings to shield themselves and their assets against opponents. Almost three dozen Catholic dioceses have filed for bankruptcy, with compensation programs for abuse victims. Johnson & Johnson used bankruptcy as a tool to protect its profitable businesses from liability in cancer lawsuits. Earlier this year, the Boy Scouts of America emerged from bankruptcy after battling multiple appeals over its $2.46 billion settlement to resolve decades of claims of abuse.

The Catholic Diocese of Madison is pulling the plug on its support of the Boy Scouts of America at the end of next year. The Diocese of Madison covers Columbia, Dane, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, Lafayette, Marquette, Rock, and Sauk counties in south- central Wisconsin. Kris Kranenburg, the director of communications for the diocese, told The Gazette Monday that the decision, effective Dec. 31, 2024, was tied to the Boy Scouts of America’s ongoing bankruptcy process.

White & Case LLP is seeking court clearance to charge the Boy Scouts of America $70.4 million for representing the organization in its bankruptcy over two and a half years, court records show. The law firm, which has served as lead counsel to the youth organization since September 2020, is also seeking to be reimbursed $2.7 million in expenses, according to an application for compensation filed Monday in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.